Top Malware Attacks that Prove IOT Needs Security

You may
think you are safe when you put your login credentials to your social media
account, but you need to take care of yourself.
Social media and other anything you access online is not safe anymore,
do not trust any online platform with your information or data. Always have
your doubts every time you access websites in your internet space, never be
overconfidence, have some smart cybersecurity strategies that will protect you because
cyber hackers are not sleeping, but thinking of a new way to access information
that might be of benefit to them. Many
hackers use sophisticated software that many try to connect to virtual machines
using network addresses and sockets and any other loopholes, to access
workstations online. Ransomware are used to get into network of computers and
try to access computer systems and data. They are mostly spread using phishing
emails and visiting websites that have ransomware. We have major cases that have really caused
great risks and damages in recent past.

WannaCry Attack

NHS were
first victims of this ransomware that gained access to their computer system in
2017 and caused chaos to the whole medical system. This was caused by hackers
who used the same ransomware to attack FedEx, a renowned freight company. It
found its way into their system and infected all computers in all their
branches in 150 countries.
“WannaCry” was being spread by use of email in form of
attachment; therefore, as you download the attachment, it finds its way into
the computer. When it got into computer, it used to lock files and demand
compensation in form of money for it to unlock files.

This
ransomware paralyzed the whole NHS for some days, until a 22 year old security
guru found a kill switch.

Mirai Malware attack

It is one
of the worst attacks that have ever happened in 21st century. It
took place in 21st of October in 2016 when no one expected it. Mirai is a malware that used to skim through
the internet of things devices, finding devices to attack. It was doing this continuously until it
successfully accesses component and logins into it then infects it by executing
a malware. Mirai tried 61 different passwords combining
with usernames for each computer.

After
controlling the device, Mirai used to make a huge botnet army out of the
internet of things devices. With this army, massive DDoS attacks were made and
successfully took down many websites and internet services causing huge effects
and losses since even part of internet went down because of Mirai attack. Many
social network sites like Twitter was messily affected. Netflix,CNN, Reddit and
many other companies that relied on internet for their services, went down.
Mirai attack became one of the biggest cyber-attack that ever happened in the
history of Internet of things (IoT). From the attack, we learned that is very
important to changed default passwords and username immediately when new device
is connected to the internet. In addition, passwords should always be unique
per device when connected to the internet. It is necessary for IoT devices to
have latest software and firmware to be updated every time to control and
reduce vulnerabilities.

Trendnet webcam

This
attack happened to camera belonging to TRENDnet company who claimed that they
were secure from any attack. Hacker wanted to prove they are far from the truth
because he hacked and was able to look through the camera using IP address. It
is very important to encrypt IP address of cameras and use strong passwords and
username to protect yourself from
hackers.

Oliviah Nelson is an avid cybersecurity author who dives deep into technical and engineering issues in the cyber world. The author of books and articles about technology and security, Oliviah Nelson is a well respected authority.